Ease of Use — 8
I had to go on line to see the pamphlet to understand it better. But the box was very very easy to work with and figure out. One has to really invest time to get some great sounds out of this box. I plan on using this on stage when I gig since I managed to be lucky in not get one that popped like many complained and since my signal lines are buffered with good power conditioning, I don't think that I'll encounter any sonic problems many associate this unit with. I may try the AM-100 on some of my 6 and 12 string acoustic guitars when I gig or record.

Sound — 7
I had to really "tweak" the knobs to get a decent sound out of this effects box, but I managed to get a good sound out of it. The switch modes features: Standard, Large, Piezo and Bright, for different tonality to get coming out of your speakers. As someone stated in one of the previous review, is true.

*There is a notable hiss when this pedal is switched on, I solved it by using the 9 volt power outlet from my VHT Valvulator I, problem solved.

*Getting the battery in or out can be a headache, but could be easily done.

*Many complained about a irritating popping sound when you stomp this unit on. Luckily, mine is pretty silent. Not bad for a little under $22.00 U.S. dollars.

Reliability & Durability — 6
I intend to use a RJM Music Mini Effects Gizmo and putting this in one of the loops with a Boss GE-7 band EQ, to get a convincing Acoustic tone. Some one can get something like an old DOD Gate/Loop and get rid of any of the popping issues I've read in other reviews here. I take care of my gear pretty well, even though it's made of plastic, it's going to be safe inside my effects pedal case. I'd rate this higher, but I have to give it a six, since I had to use other gear to make this sound as good as my old AC-2 Boss pedal. When I brought it home, I cleaned the pots, input/output jacks and the outer casing. I'm sure this effects pedal will last.

Overall Impression — 8
I play many forms of metal, blues, classic rock and guitar oriented instrumental music. When I was getting familiar with this pedal I was running it thru: S.D. Pickup Booster, a Boss GE-7 band EQ, VHT Valvulator I, DigiTech RP-12, DigiTech RP-1, another VHT Valvulator I to a rack full of BBE Sonic Maximizers, Hush Noise Reduction Units, two 32 Band EQ's with a Monster 2500 Power Conditioner unit. I played things like "Can't Kill Rock 'n' Roll," "Mother Earth / Revelation" and the Piezo and Bright mode did a good job.

I made my AM100 sound great with a Boss 7 band eq pedal and my noise gate prevented the so called pop from being audible. We do a cover of Ozzy's, Can't Kill Rock n Roll", "Mamma, I'm Coming Home" "Fade To black" and the sound is dead on acoustic .... Sorry I had to kick around the "Gear Cork Sniffing myths"